@Hiswife2be: I don’t think there’s a set dollar amount for either one. It depends on where you live, and the photographer’s experience. The best thing to do is pick your budget and go from there to see what you can get.

Depends on your location for what rates go for, your budget, and how important photographer is for you.

For us, photography was our #1 priority and the area we splurged on. We spent $2000 on services, not including prints. For my area, this is higher than average. But we love their artsy and nature-focused style so for us it was exactly what we wanted and worth the price.

There are lots of photographers who are new to the field or do it as a hobby and charge much less than average, too. I think the field of photography is quite saturated so there are usually lots of choices that accommodate every budget.

Do research for your area. Ask for reccommendations. Go to bridal shows. Pick a few you like and go from there!

@Hiswife2be: The knot suggests 10-12% of your budget be spent on Videography/Photography. That being said, I have a 30k budget and am spending a little over 4k on my photographer and another 2k on my videographer.

How important is photography to you? Will you use these photos as art or store them away? It also depends on your area, if they’re independent or part of a bigger company, number of hours and if there’s a second shooter included.

Definitely depends on area. My cousin for example got married in NYC & paid $10K (I nearly cried when I asked for a photog referral and she told me what she paid). I’m getting married upstate in the Hudson Valley and am paying $4K. City prices, whoosh!

That is a BIG question. I think it depends on your particular taste in photography. You shouldn’t spend If you can’t tell the difference between $1500 pictures and $5000 pictures, don’t spend $5000!

It also depends on your budget. If you can’t afford it or don’t value pictures at $5000 then you certainly shouldn’t spend that much.

I think it’s “normal” to spend somewhere between $1500 adn $3000. Beyond that and you are really prioritizing photography. Lower than that and you are probably booking a less experienced photographer or someone with a more basic style.

@Hiswife2be: SO many factors go into that, it’s definitely a loaded question!

Ask yourself :

What is your budget for the wedding?

How important are photos to you?

How much coverage do you need?

What style of photography are you drawn to?

What sort of products and services do you want?

Here’s what it boils down to….industry standards is, on average, $3,000 for an experienced and legit photographer for anywhere from 6-8 hours of coverage. That price usually includes just the time of the photographer, and in a lot of cases, the digital files as well. That number will vary depending on different factors – experience, workload, package, and (in *some* cases) location. In general, photographers have the some cost of doing business no matter our location – the gear costs the same, insurance (mostly) costs the same, websites, hostings, proofing, etc….it all costs the same. The difference comes in with their cost of living in the city in which they do business.

@Hiswife2be: depends on your location but we’re spending $3000 for 6 hours of coverage. Photography was a major priority for us, so we could have gotten passable images for $1000-$2000 but I’m very picky so a big part of the budget went towards it